This map of Georgia is published just 15 years after the new colony’s foundation by James Oglethorpe (1696-1785) in 1733. It is the first printed map to focus on Georgia and is praised by Cumming as one of the best maps of the region for the period. It was published in John Harris’ ‘A Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels’ published in two volumes in 1744 and 1748, this appearing in the second.

Oglethorpe was an active promoter of emigration to the colony and no doubt was behind the production of this map. Evidence for this is in the title where the author Emanuel Bowen states he had access to ‘original draughts assisted by the most approved maps and charts’. The Charter for the colony was granted to Oglethorpe in April 1732 and named after King George II. It was encouraged largely because it provided a further buffer to the Spanish colony of Florida. The original boundary of Georgia can be seen extending all the way westward to the Mississippi River.

Settlements along the South Carolina coast are displayed and it includes the nascent settlements of Savannah and Ebenezer mostly huddled along the Atlantic coast. It is however for its interior detail that the map is justly desired. The internal settlements such as Argyle Fort and Mount Venture are outnumbered by the Indian settlements all of which are connected by a web of trails. The locations of the major tribes are also shown. A good example of a map often with offsetting or browning. Cumming (1998) 267; Shirley (2004) G.Harr 1a no. 20.